Readicide-Part One

"Read-i-cide: noun, the systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools." (Gallagher, pg. 2)

If that definition of what is occurring throughout schools does not grab your attention, than I'm not sure what will. After seeing this on the cover of a new book written by Kelly Gallagher, I immediately began reading and have been blown away at what he presents the problems to be in our reading instruction across the country.

Before we discuss the problems though, let's begin with the statistics, for data is a very strong component as to what and how we teach.

"*Less than one-third of thirteen-year-olds are daily readers, a 14 percent decline from twenty years earlier.

*Among seventeen-year-olds, the percentage of non readers has more than doubled over a twenty-year period, from 9 percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004.

*The percentage of thirteen-year-olds who read for fun on a daily basis declined from 35% to 30%, and for seventeen-year-olds the decline was from 33% to 22%.

*On average, Americans ages fifteen to twenty-four spend almost two hours a day watching television, and only seven minutes of their leisure time on reading.

*Nearly half of all Americans ages fifteen to twenty-four do not read books for pleasure."

Hmmm...
Depressing? Yes. Changeable? Absolutely.

After reading these statistics, to me it makes perfect sense as to why students are not developing into the life long readers that they used to be.They have lost their passion and eagerness to learn... Gallagher says also that, "There is a dearth of interesting reading material in schools, and students are not doing enough reading in school."

So if there is a lack of materials and not enough time, than obviously scores and the amount of able readers will decrease. Now I am not a middle or high school teacher, but I believe that the statistics and truths above directly affect my first grade students and their ability to develop into Reading Leaders. I want each of my students to beat the statistics, and because if that I believe firmly and whole heartedly in Readers Workshop.

In this type of reading structure that I have adopted in my classroom, students are given time daily to engage in interesting reading material of their choice on their own personal levels. We have been building our independent reading stamina all year long and are still reaching for our goal. As I looked around my classroom during independent reading, I was in awe of how engaged and interested they were in that moment. I saw students reading from different genres, from different authors, reading on different levels, reading in comfortable spots around the room that supported their reading, and ultimately, reading for meaning, for growth and for FUN. :) What a wonderful sight!

Finally, I was reminded of the importance of beating "Readicide" this morning while conferencing with a student. After she read to me a bit, we spoke about her strengths and future goals for her reading. She told me that she wants to keep increasing her reading level and wants to begin reading more "reality wolf books!" Wow. I said I could help with that and have Wolf books of all sorts waiting on her desk for tomorrow morning. Interesting material? Check. Time? Check.

With the above two steps initiated, Readicide can be beaten and avid readers can be brought back to life. :)